In what I can only describe as a happy coincidence, I have two anniversaries this week! I didn't plan my launch date for this reason, but the first anniversary of this feed is on August 9th, and our 37th wedding anniversary was on August 4th. Double celebration!!
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I’m sitting in my office, staring at the calendar, trying to let it sink in that I have put up at least one new post every week for an entire year.
I know other people who have done far more; who post daily, or have posted regularly for several years without missing a deadline, or built their readership to thousands of subscribers.
Those are all good goals to have. But meeting a goal starts with day one, reader number one. Goals are milestones you work and build toward.
Today is a milestone. A modest one, true, but a milestone.
When I started this channel I had already built an inventory of columns and ideas, hedging my bets against the week when I would have no idea what to talk about. But in the weeks leading up to the launch my goals started changing – even before I had a Patreon account or a new website.
When I got the idea to start this discussion I thought I should have an inventory to draw on.
Initially my plan was to post at least once a month, so I set a goal of writing a minimum of six columns before I launched. Six months should be adequate, shouldn’t it?
But as I learned more about engagement on social media it became clear that the once-a-month model just wasn’t enough to attract readers. If I wanted to build a relationship with my readers I needed to give them more.
Twice a month. That should be enough. All the advice said that at least twice a month kept readers coming back. Which meant I needed at least twelve columns to give me a six month cushion.
Well, yes. And no.
Because when I started writing that six months started to look like a very short time. What happened if I wanted to take a trip? (Okay, Covid killed that idea for more than a year but we are talking about very early 2020. The Before Time.) Or if I got sick and couldn’t create new content every month? Or what if a natural disaster struck and disrupted my schedule? (Yeah, remember the posts last September when we had to evacuate because of a wildfire?)
I quickly realized that six months could pass so quickly and I would be without columns to share with you. I could be forced to shut down this channel before it ever got a chance.
So I stretched my goal once again, going from the New Goal of twelve columns to the New New Goal of twenty-four. A full year of columns.
That felt rather ambitious, but I was determined to give this project the best chance I could. Even if it meant delaying the launch a few weeks to build up inventory. The fact that we were all in lockdown helped me to make that decision; people were so distracted by what was going on in the outside world – that place we couldn’t go – that no one was focused on how to survive staying inside.
Finally, at the end of July 2020, as we adjusted to staying home, wearing masks, isolating ourselves, and generally turning inward, it was time to launch.
The first column, Welcome To My World, went live on August 8, and I wondered of anyone would read it. To my surprise and delight, several of you showed up that very first week and have stayed with me through this entire first year.
By that time I had enough inventory to carry us through this year, and in the past twelve months I have added columns as topics have presented themselves. I am relieved that I still have some columns in inventory.
I have also added other kinds of posts.
Recommendations: I try to find at least one thing to recommend every month: a book, movie, podcast, vlog, something interesting or inspiring that relates to the topic of creativity.
Fun Extras: Yeah, that’s the description I gave them in my head, and I haven’t come up with something better. (There has got to be something better! You’re all creative people, help me out here!) These are mostly personal posts about things that are going on in my life that may or may not relate directly to creativity but are still important to me. I post them on the 4th Sunday, hoping to end the month with a smile.
Quote of the Day: If I see something that makes me think I try to verify the source and then share it with you. These are exclusive to the Patreon channel, and are in addition to the regular weekly posts. I would love to hear from you if you find one of these quotes, because I am sure I miss a lot of them!
This Week in Making: I watch a lot of streaming content since we cut the cord on cable (and there’s a mountain range that keeps us from getting over-the-air television broadcasts). Often it is other creative types sharing something they have made, and sometimes they are just too cool not to share.
Fiction Bonus: I enjoy sharing things I have created with you, and have occasionally posted short stories I have written. I would love to do more, but I hesitate to focus too much on the writing. I would love to hear from you if you want to see more fiction in the future.
I also learned what happened if I wanted to take a trip. Earlier this year I finally got to take the road trip we had talked about for more than a decade, which got pushed back to “when I retire” so we could travel without a deadline to return to work, and eventually had to wait for vaccines and re-opened travel.
We were gone just short of eight weeks, and there was a new post every week during that time. Most of those posts came from my inventory and were designed and scheduled in the last days before we left. I also wrote posts from the road when something important or interesting caught my attention, and I added a couple trip reports complete with photos from our travels.
I even discovered that it was possible to write, edit, add pictures, and schedule a post over hotel Wi-Fi when necessary. Knowing I can maintain my schedule while traveling is reassuring, because I hope to travel some more (if we ever get this blasted pandemic under control).
So thank you all for coming with me over the last year. I just went back and counted, there have been 67 posts on this page since we started. I hope you feel this has been worthwhile, and that you will stick with me for the next year, and the one after that.
We still have a long way to go.